Barcon

[It. barcone, from barca, a bark.] A ve el built to carry freight, much used in the Mediterranean. Bard, n. [Gael. bard; W. bardd, a priest, a philosopher, a teacher; more especially a poet, from bar, the top, the summit.] The name under which were known the poets of the Celtic tribes, who, in battle, raised the war-cry, and in peace sang the exploits of their heroes, celebrated the attributes of their gods, and chronicled the history of their nation. Originally spread over the greater part of western Europe, they seem to have been the heralds, the priests, and the lawgivers of the free barbarians, who first occupied its ancient forests, until, by the gradual progre of southern civilization and despotism, they were driven back into the fastne es of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, where the last echoes of their harps have long since died away. Their early history is uncertain. Diodorus ( Lib. v. 31.) tells us, that the Celts had bards, who sang to musical instruments; and Strabo ( Lib. iv.) testifies that they were treated with respect approaching to veneration. The pa age of Tacitus ( Germ. 7.) is a doubtful reading. Heyne does not venture to decide whether it is barditus, as some who explain it to mean bard's song, maintain; or baritus, which, according to Adelung, is the true reading, and signifies merely war cry. The first Welsh bards, of whom anything is extant, are Taliesin, Aneurin, and Llywarch, of the 6th century; but their language is imperfectly understood. From the days of these monarchs of the bards, we have nothing further till the middle of the 10th century, when the reputation of the order was increased under the auspices of Howel Dda. A code of laws was framed by that prince, to regulate their duties and fix their privileges. They were distributed into three cla es, with a fixed allowance; degrees of rank were established, and prize-contests instituted. Their order was frequently honored by the admi ion of princes, among whom was Llewellyn, last king of Wales. The Welsh, kept in awe as they were by the Romans, hara ed by the Saxons, and eternally jeal Fig . 290.- A WELSH BARD, (11th century.) ous of the attacks, the encroachments, and the neighborhood of aliens, were, on this account, attached to their Celtic manners. This situation and these circumstances inspired them with a proud and obstinate determination to maintain a national distinction, and preserve their ancient usages, among which the bardic profe ion was so eminent. Sensible of the influence of their traditional poetry in keeping alive the ideas of military valor and of ancient glory among the people, Edward I. is said to have collected all the Welsh bards, and caused them to be hanged, by martial law, as stirrers up of sedition. On this incident. is founded Gray's well-known ode, The Bard. We, however, find them existing at a much later period, but confining themselves to the humble task of compiling private genealogies. But little is known of the music and measures of the bards; their prosody depended much on alliteration; their instruments were the harp, the pipe, and the crwth , or lute. The bardic institution of the Irish bears a strong affinity to that of the Welsh. The genealogical sonnets of the Irish bards are still the chief foundations of the ancient history of Ireland. Their songs are strongly marked with the traces of Scaldic imagination, which still appears among the "tale-tellers," a sort of poetical historians, supposed to be the descendants of the bards. There was, also, evidently a connection of the Welsh with Armorica. Hence, in the early French romances, we often find the scene laid in Wales; and on the other hand, many fictions have pa ed from the Troubadours into the tales of the Welsh. In the Highlands of Scotland, there are considerable remains of many of the compositions of their old bards still preserved, the most celebrated of which are the poems of O ian , q. v. Many of the finest old bardic remains may be found in the Mabinogion of Lady С. Guest, (London, 1850.) - See EISTEDDFOD. -In modern parlance; a poet. "Nor know we when to spare, or where to strike, Our bards and censors are so much alike."-Byron. -[Fr. barde; Icel. bard i, a shield.] ( Antiq.) A horse's defensive armor. (Cookery.) A strip of bacon used in larding meat while roasting.